The Other Circus Kid
by RobinsReckoning
Summary: When you grow up clowns and acrobats, the circus becomes your family, even if they aren't from your circus. When Dick Grayson left, he left his best friend, Roxana (Roxie) Lupei, behind. And after more than four years of not seeing each other, what will they say? Will the other circus kid join Robin, or will Dick run away with the circus? K but might change...
1. The Show Must Go On

Hey guys! I'm having a slight bit of writers block on my other story, so this happened! Hope you enjoy it, not a lot of the team in this but if you like it review it and I'll do more.

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I watched the eight year old boy fly above me with grace that proved he was worth his nickname. The youngest member of the Flying Graysons never failed to impress me. I wouldn't let him know that. "With that colourful costume, you really do look like a Robin!" I laughed. Every so often the two circuses would meet up, and Dick and I would get to spend a few days together. "You should come up here, sora mai!" The young boy said, slipping into Romanian to call me sister. I laughed, "Nu, eu nu pot zbura ca tine!" No, I can not fly like you. Both of our parents were constantly trying to get us to speak English, but when it was just us two, we would often laps back into our first language. I twisted my fingers through the mane of the stallion that stood by my side. No, I could not fly like him, but when I rode, it sure felt like it. While Dick had taken to the trapeze, I had found my act with the horses. My father did liberty, and I had fallen in love with the animals from a small age. Now I preformed an act by myself, performing stunts on galloping, half ton animals. Dick could barely sit on them. The boy landed, and climbed down so he could come a stand with me. "Ești un laș, Roxie!" He said teasingly. You're a coward Roxie.  
"Cel puțin eu nu cad de pe un cal de îndată ce merge mai repede decât la o plimbare!" At least I do not fall off a horse as soon as it goes faster than a walk!  
"I se poate! Ma uit la mine!" I can. Watch me. He hopped on the horse, his acrobatic skills allowing him to get on top of the sixteen hand horse without much trouble. He had no idea what he was doing. He drove his heels into the stallion with unnecessary force, and the horse responded as such. He cantered off, the small boy bouncing on top of him. Dick threw his arms around the horse's strong neck, desperately trying to stay on. "Opri! I mean halt!" I yelled to my horse. He stopped at once, and the terrified boy slid off his neck and landed on the ground with a thump. "Ești bine? Pasăre mică, ești bine?" Are you okay? Little bird, are you okay? I rushed over to my best friend, who was mumbling, "Armăsar prost, am putea să o facă…" I laughed as he tried to blame my horse for his failure.

It had been just over a week, and it was time to say our goodbyes. We saw each other every six months, give or take a few weeks, ever since we could remember. Both circuses were packed and ready to head off. I was trying to lift a heavy bale of hay into the horses' cart, but it wasn't working well for me. "Dickie! I need help!" I yelled. He came running up to me, smiling as he took the other end of the bale. Between us, we managed to get it up and split it up for the team of seven horses. I shut the door and we stood in the dirt. "I'll see you in a few months, little Robin."  
"Okay Roxie! See ya, good luck! Don't fall off!"  
"Better me than you!" I laughed, thinking about how my falls were tiny compared to his. We got on our trains, waving at each other until our parents pulled us back into the cart.

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I looked at my tear-stained face in the mirror, my blonde hair messy and my green eyes red. I couldn't believe it. When my dad had told me that the two adult Grayson's had died, I couldn't believe it. I couldn't stand to think that Dick could be there, out alone and frightened. Well, maybe not alone, I had heard some millionaire had adopted him. But he was like family to me, and knowing he was hurting this much caused me to break down. He was in Gotham City, a place we weren't expected to see for at least another few years. Remembering the last thing I had said to him only made me cry harder, the lighthearted teasing becoming a sick, twisted joke. I heard a knock on the bathroom door. "Sweetie? If you don't want to preform tonight, you don't have to." My dad's voice was slightly muffed by the door. I was lucky. I might only have one parent, but it was so much better than none. I opened the door to see dad there. He was upset too, but not crying like I had been. I wiped my face, brushing away the tears. "It's okay, the show must go on and all that stuff."


	2. Four Years On

Hey guys, had a few reviews asking to continue this, so here we go. Love, hate and suggestions welcome. Please review, it gives me warm fuzzies :p

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4 (and a bit) Years Later  
"Next time we preform, Dickie might come. Won't that be fun?" I said to my horse. He was a new mount, but brilliant. He was 4 now, I had raised him from a foal. He was born a few weeks after Dick's parents had died, and I named him in his honour. Prihor had never meet the boy, but it didn't matter. I was still excited that we were going to Gotham. I put Prihor back into the makeshift paddock we had all of the horses in. After Dick had left, I decided to get up on the trapeze. I had frightened my father half to death, but continued. Now my act was a complex mixture of two kinds of flying. I climbed up and started doing a few basic moves, small flips and turns. I somersaulted through the air. Once. Twice. Three times. I tired for four, but ended up landing on the net. I sighed. I had no idea why I tried that every time. I knew it was a Grayson move, something that a trick rider turned acrobat could never hope to achieve, but I would attempt it at least once every training day. I got up from the net, heading back to my trailer. It was going to be a long night.

Dick's P.O.V  
There were posters everywhere. Ever since the incident with the Haly's circus, no other circus had come to Gotham. Now the Lightning Twins circus was coming, and everyone was taking about it. But that's not why I was so excited. The girl there, Roxie, used to be my best friend. We were from different circuses, but that didn't stop us. I hadn't seen her in years, a few weeks before the death of my parents. It would be nice. If she remembered me. Because she lived on the road, it was impossible to contact her. So when I heard about a tour stop here, I decided to go. I got my phone out and dialled my new best friend. "Hey, K.F."  
"Hey Rob, what you up to?"  
"Nothing much. You wanna go to the circus with me?" There was silence for a minute.  
"You're kidding, right?"  
"No."  
"Dude, why?" I sighed.  
"An old friend. She was in a different circus, I haven't seen her in years."  
"Not that I don't want to come, but why isn't Bruce going?"  
"He probably will anyway, but I don't want to go as millionaire's ward Richard Wayne. I want to go as circus kid Dick Grayson."  
"Fine then. But you're buying me popcorn!" I laughed.  
"Deal. 'Till then, stay whelmed." And the line went dead.

The day rushed past, and suddenly Wally was at the front door of Wayne manor waiting for me. I slipped on my dark shades and waved Bruce goodbye. He was going as well, but understood my reasons for going without him. Wally ran with me over his shoulder, much to my protests, until we were close enough to people that we couldn't. "Have I ever told you how much I hate it when you do that?" I muttered, straightening my clothes.  
"I want good seats!"  
"I booked us ring side kid idiot, we have to best seats in the house. Well, besides Bruce. We're about five seats away from him. But still."  
"Okay, okay, sheesh. Sorry I said anything." I cackled.  
"Come on, lets go find somewhere that sells popcorn." I didn't have to ask twice.

She was the final act. I had waited the entire show for this. This girl who I had grown up with, to see what had become of her. "Ladies and Gentlemen, children of all ages, we have come to the final act of tonight," the first twin said. There was an appropriate 'aw' mumbled throughout the crowd. The second twin started talking now. "But don't worry, we have saved the best for last! The girl who could ride a horse before she could walk,  
"who had mastered the act of trick riding before before she lost her first tooth,"  
"who is now one of the best trick riders and trapeze artists in the country,"  
"at the incredibly young age of thirteen,"  
"we give you, Roxie, and her wonderful horse, Prihor!" They said the last line together, and the crowd cheered as the young girl rode into the ring, standing upright on top of the galloping horse. She waved as she rounded the ring, the light catching her shiny costume. It was white with silver lacing, which matched her horse, it's snowy white coat tipped with a light grey that was like silver. The white leather saddle kept in with the theme, were it not for the silver lining, it might look invisible on the horse. She sat down, twisting to one side, laying down. And throwing her spare leg in the air. I knew from all those years ago that her other foot was entangled in the stirrup on the other side. After a lap she sat back up, then jumped off her horse. The crowd were on their toes but soon realised she was fine as she jumped beside the horse, in time with it's thundering strides. One big leap and she was back on. A trapeze bar was lowered, so if she stood up on the horse it would be in jumping distance. She stood up, and as the horse galloped under it, she leaped and caught the bar. It was drawn back up, so she was high in the air. She started to do her tricks, flipping and soaring through the air. How I envied her. She did a few triple somersaults with ease, and I wondered whether she couldn't or wouldn't do a quadruple somersault. She prepared to do another flip, when something happened. She missed the bar. The screams started as the girl fell to what seemed like certain death. The only thing that I could bring to mind was 'not again'. I heard a scream, a scream that stood out, because it was so raw, like the scream of something that had never had a need to scream before. The scream that came from Roxie


	3. Eu Nu Cad: I Do Not Fall

Roxie's P.O.V  
I had seen him. Ring side, sitting next to a kid who seemed to be trying to eat his weight in food. I had known about him being adopted by a rich man, so it figured he would get good seats. A good view. When I missed the bar, I knew he would be the first to notice, the first to panic. He had been an acrobat long before I, and he knew when something went wrong. I just hoped he wouldn't do anything stupid. Like try to save me. I let out a scream, further convincing the audience of my immanent demise. "She going to die!" I heard someone yell.  
"She's falling!" Another shouted. I smiled ever so briefly. 'Eu nu cad,' I thought to myself. I do not fall. It had been Dick's response the first time I had witnessed him miss the bar. He was only five at the time, but still. I pulled out the lasso I had clipped to my belt, one that looked like just a prop. I loved this part. I expertly threw the silvery length of rope, looping it around a hook that had been installed just for this. I swung on it, letting out a laugh as the audience breathed a sigh of relief. I swung around, over the heads of the front row, losing some of my momentum. I landed on top of my horse, doing a final lap before coming to a stop in the middle of the ring. A few slight movements in my hands and feet and suddenly my horse was on two feet. The crowd cheered, as I cantered off stage. I heard the ringmasters talking, thanking the crowd and giving a special thanks to Bruce Wayne, who had payed the lease on the land so we had a place to preform. I prepared myself to go out again, to say hi to young kids and have photos with families.

I smiled again as the flash went off, signalling that yet another photo had been taken. The little kid on my knee hugged me and ran towards his parents. I lifted a small child onto the back of Prihor, hearing her giggle as she squirmed around on the horse. It had been ten minutes and still no sign of Dick. I took the girl off my horse after the picture was taken. I was starting to worry that Dick hadn't recognise me, when suddenly a certain dark haired boy wrapped his arms around me. "Dickie!" I laughed as I squeezed him back. I looked up to see all the little kids and parents, waiting for photos. I hated to cut the hug short, but I had to finish here first. "Ne întâlnim în rulota mea. Aduce porcine, dacă doriți." Dick cackled at my choice of words, and grabbed his friend by the arm and lead him away.

Dick's P.O.V.  
"What's so funny? Is it what she said? What did she say?" Wally kept questioning me as I dragged him towards Roxie's trailer.  
"It's not what she said, it's her choice of words!"  
"What did she say?"  
"She said to meet her at her trailer and that I could bring you."  
"What did she say exactly?"  
"Meet me at my trailer. Bring your pig if you want." I started laughing again, only made worse when I saw Wally's face.  
"That is so rude."  
"But so true!" We came to the trailer I remembered as Roxie's. I knocked on the door, and her father answered. He stared at me for a moment, trying to place me. Then he got it. "Dick Grayson. Fancy seeing you here. I'm guessing Roxie sent you?"  
"Yes. This is my friend, Wally. Wally, this is Roxie's dad, Mr. Lupei." They awkwardly shook hands.  
"Well don't just stand there, come in!" He was friendly as always. We walked into the small, yet not at all cramped, trailer. I felt right at home, sitting on the couch across from Mr. Lupei.  
"So how has everything been?" He asked.  
"Great. Mr. Wayne, my adoptive father, had been really kind to me. He paid for me to continue my acrobatics, though much smaller scale stuff, and I still miss it here."  
"That's great. You know, Roxie will probably drag you up onto the trapeze."  
"Probably?" A voice said from the doorway. Roxie smiled hugely. "Oh you know I will." She ran straight towards me, throwing her arms around me in a crushing hug. I winced slightly, an ache in my side a painful reminder of my bruised ribs. Roxie noticed, releasing me mostly but holding my wrists firmly. There were at least four ways I could get out of this easily and without inflicting pain. I didn't, of course, but it was nice to remind myself that she couldn't really make me do anything I didn't want to do. "A fost prea mult timp. Mi-ai lipsit atât de mult," she whispered. It's been too long. I missed you so much. I smiled.  
"Am fost dor de tine. Ai crescut atât de mult." I missed you too. You've grown so much. And she had. We had both been short, heck, we still were, but I had lost the one inch hight advantage I once had on her. She was now about three inches taller than me, most of it probably coming from her long legs. Her hair was still long as ever, but the incredibly light blonde hair had a bright blue streak down the left side. As a horse rider, her core and lower body had always been particularly well toned, but as a trick rider and acrobat, her overall muscle level was comparable to that of an Olympic athlete. "Guys, um, I don't speak whatever language you're speaking," Wally waved his hand, trying to get our attention.  
"It's Romanian, and we'll try to stop." Roxie let go of me to got see Wally. He stuck out his hand, but she ignored it, instead wrapped her arms around him, though nowhere near as affectionately as she had done to me. She let a shocked but happy Wally go, speaking to him now. "Sorry about that, I have a habit of slipping out of English when it's not necessary. You're Wally, correct?"  
"Um, yeah, how'd you know?"  
"Dick talks really loud." She was lying. I didn't mention Wally's name once while she was on stage. But the lie came easily and if it wasn't for the fact I had known that detail, she would have convinced me.  
"Anyway, we're going on the trapeze. I'll be back later daddy!" She grabbed my wrist, pulling me along side her.  
"Wait, I have to go tell Bruce I'll be late home." A paranoid daddybat was not something I wanted to deal with.  
"Okay then, I guess I get to meet him! Lead the way, little bird!"


	4. Confirmed Theories

**Sorry! it's been way too long since I last updated this, and this chapter is terrible, but you guys deserved something, so here you go! please review, I hope you enjoy!**

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Roxie's P.O.V.  
Bruce Wayne was extremely good about it, going so far as to even agree to stay with us for an extra hour. I guess he wanted to see what his adopted son could do as much as I did. A chalky dust filled the air as Dick patted the excess powder off his hands. I coughed slightly and waved my hand in front of my face. I wore fingerless gloves so I didn't need the chalk. "Ready?" I asked, grabbing onto the bar. He let out a cackle, swinging forward before I had the chance. I followed soon after, as he was making his way back. I let go on the bar, doing a single summersault and grabbing the boys strong arms. I laughed as I grabbed my own bar with the back of my legs. It was Dick's turn to flip. "Don't try a quadruple flip here Dick, I don't have the net up," I called as we swung. He let go of the bar, and I knew he was going to ignore me. Idiot.  
He started to fall. His fingers missed my arms by about a foot. I watched him, and I saw his smug grin change to a panicked, wide eyed glance. There was something wrong with his fear though. It wasn't... Strong enough.  
I was thankful I still had on my costume and prop. I looped the rope around the foot of the falling boy, and nearly missed the flash of red hair that was suddenly underneath us. Nearly.

I lowered Dick the last few meters towards the ground, then slowly climbed down to meet them. "Roxie, what happened?" Bruce asked, suddenly changing from extremely nice guy who didn't pose a threat to 'so this is what death looks like'. I knew he was really asking what I saw. "I told Dick not to try the move, and he did, so I had to save his stupid ass," I smirked. The boy in question rubbed the back of his head, running his hands through his hair. He knew I was lying, but I figured, 'I saw Kid Flash come to the rescue of Robin while Batman watched from the sidelines,' probably wasn't the best thing to say. I had always had a feeling Dick was the Boy Wonder. Anyone who knew him would know. I had never voiced my theory, expect for an e-mail (in code, mind you) to Mr. Haly, who had agreed. Now I knew for sure, I had evidence right in front of me, and I didn't do anything about it. Stupid, stupid, stupid!  
"We should go now anyway," the billionaire said. Dick looked at him pleadingly, but only got a cold glare in return.  
"How long will you be here for?" Dick asked, turning to me as Bruce started to walk off, Wally in tow.  
"Five more days, I have nighttime shows for all of them and two daytime ones."  
"Do you have a day one tomorrow?"  
"No."  
"Good, you're coming over." He didn't ask. He told me I was. I felt one side of my mouth be pulled up into an involuntary, crooked smile.

I pulled off my costume, folding it and neatly putting it away. Images of Batman and Robin quickly filled my mind and I went about my mundane tasks. I showered, hot water beating down on my skin, gently massaging my tired muscles. I let out a yawn as I scrubbed at the hardened skin of my body, fingers occasionally running over a raised scar or a discoloured section of skin, various parts ranging from a deep purple to a yellowy green._ 'If this is what I get in the safety of the circus... Imagine the kind of stuff Dick gets.'_ I shudder at the thought, turning the taps off and stepping out. As I patted myself dry with the cream towel, I felt incredibly worthless and cowardly. Here I was, standing in my bathroom, in the safety of the trailer, while my best friend was out risking his life. My fingers reached towards the mirror, moving to create pictures with the steam. I stood back, aligning my face with the image of the mask. The crooked smile returned.

Why should Dick have all the fun?


	5. Rich Boys and Mob Bosses

**I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry! There is no excuse for not updated. But I swear I tried! I'd come to this story every few days and be like okay I'm doing this now and then I could barely get a sentence out. Blame writers block! But now I know what I'm doing so I should be updating more. I'm so so sorry and thank you for being so good.**

**btw, I swear the team will come in soon**

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Dick's P.O.V.

It was freezing. God, why didn't I have long sleeves? We were on the roof of Wayne Enterprises, simply because it was one of the tallest buildings and we could get a good view of the city. But it was freezing up here.

"Ahh. I'm so bored. Nothing's happening. Can we go now?" Bruce just shook his head, and just to prove his point, a shop alarm went off. I rolled my eyes, shooting the grappling hook off to follow Batman. I landed next to him, rolling twice before bouncing up onto the balls of my feet, and came face to face with...

"What are you doing here?!" I said, making sure not to mention the fact that I knew her. Even though Dick and Roxie were close friends, Robin didn't know her. She wasn't wearing her performance costume, instead a black, skin-tight, acrobat's attire. Silver stitching on the leotard simmered slightly, black, heeled boots had silver chains and buckles adorning it. Black, fingerless gloves covered her hands and she held on tightly to one end of the only part of her costume she had brought with her; her silver lasso. The other end was bound tightly around the men who had been stealing from the store.

"Your job, just better," she muttered harshly, glaring at Batman. _'She did not just say that,'_ I thought. Even under the mask I could tell Bruce was pissed. Suddenly a smile broke across her face."Don't get your rich boy pants in a knot. I'm only messing with you."

"Rich boy?" It was hard to tell, but anyone who had worked along side Batman for as long as I would know the cowl only shifts like that when he's raising an eyebrow. The right side of her mouth twitched up, giving herself a lopsided grin. Could she really know who we were?

"Yeah _Bruce_, rich boy. I figured it out." She was smug, hand on hip and looking just the way she did four years ago when she'd be about to stick her tongue out.

"Listen, Roxie, this isn't a game. You can't just-" I started.

"He's right. This is not a game. You are to return home right now. We will talk about this tomorrow," Batman all but growled, stepping towards her and shooting daggers at her with the Batglare. She tried not to, she really did, but I could see her visibly shrink under the weight of the look. I gave her a half smile. The only person on the planet he how's fully immune to that look was Alfred (thinking about it, he was probably the one who taught Bruce that look).

Roxie nodded quickly, frozen on the spot as Batman exchanged the rope for bat cuffs and gave the lasso back. I walked up to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Don't mind him, he's very big on the whole secret identity thing. We'll pick you up tomorrow and talk about this, okay?"

"Yeah, tomorrow." She nodded, then shook her head clear, smiling.

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Roxie's P.O.V.

I was covered head to toe in sweat, horse hair, and dirt. It was a normal morning, and I was exercising Prihor early this morning, considering Dick was coming to get me. Now that I thought of it, we hadn't agreed on a time, but I assumed a teenager, let alone one who fought crime until 4am, wouldn't even be up by 8am. I on the other hand, had been awake since dawn and on my horse for like under two hours. That's why I was a little shocked after I fell off, and heard another voice accompany my laughter. I stood up, brushing off my jodhpurs.

"Dick? I didn't think you'd be here so early..." I looked up to see a man, who most certainly was not Dick, staring. He chuckled slightly.

"Dick, as in Grayson? Well, it's funny you should mention him. I'm Tony Zucco. I was there on that horrible night. Can you show me to the ringmaster?" I frowned at him. Why did that name sound so familiar?

"You shouldn't even be here, this is a private practice area. If you wanted to see someone, you would have just gone to the big trailer. So what do you really want?"

"Well you see little girl, here in Gotham, there are some bad people, who really don't like the circus. I'm here to offer your little family here something you can't afford not to have. Protection," he stepped forward as he said this, coming close enough that he could show off just how much taller and larger he is than me. I twisted my fingers though Prihor's mane, knowing that while Tony may have had 50kilos on me, Prihor had half a metric ton on him.

"Mr. Zucco, I think you should leave. As in now." He looked down at me, and it took every fibre of self control in my body not to push him away myself. He smirked.

"If that's how you wanna play little girl. I look forward to seeing your performance." The man turned and left. I stood by Prihor until he had disappeared from sight, before getting back on.

After another half hour I got off, and decided to play one of my favourite games. "Tag!" I said, tapping Prihor on the neck and bolting off as fast as my slightly sore legs could carry me. The young horse cantered after me, gaining in a matter of seconds a pushing me with his nose. He spun around, flicking dirt up in the process, and cantered away. I laughed and ran after him managing to tap his rump and jump away before he could catch me.

The feeling I got from this game wasn't something I could really describe with words. It was amazing, knowing such a large animal, that could hurt or easily kill me, trusted enough to do what ever I wanted with a small gesture of my hands or feet. And then to be able to do this, run around and up behind with no fear of being kicked because he trusted me that much. I stood there, contemplating the beauty of this moment for so long that Prihor actually came back up to me and started nudging me until I came back to reality. I smiled, tagging him and running off.

We played for another ten minutes after that before I started to tired. Being out late, attempting to help Batman and Robin, then getting up early and riding/playing with Prihor for several hours had gotten to me. I looked at the sun, judging the time to only be around 9am. A few hand movements from me and Prihor had his legs tucked underneath him, stomach now getting covered in dirt. I sat down, leaning against his side and burying my head in his mane. "Just resting my eyes," I lied to myself.

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"Ms. Roxie, I suggest you get up at once and get changed quickly, master Dick is waiting for you at the manor and I do not want dirt and horse hair in the car." I awoke to see an old British man, in formal attire, looking down at me.

"Who are you?" I asked, standing and stretching. Prihor stood as well.

"Alfred Pennyworth. Now please hurry, I promised to have you at the manor by 10am, and it is already quarter to." I felt the urge to say yes sir, but bit it back. I quickly put Prihor back in his stall, knowing Dad was planning to wash all the horses soon so I didn't need to brush the dirt from him. I changed into jeans, a shirt and my worn out pair of converses (the only pair of shoes I owned that weren't jodhpurs boots) kissed dad goodbye and hurried to a waiting limo. My eyes widened.

"You're taking me in a limo?!" I half yelped. Alfred simply held the door open for me. I got in, feeling like I was dirtying everything just by touching it. It was about five minutes into the drive before either of us spoke.

"Master Dick wished to accompany me, although he and master Bruce had some business to attend to late last night and had only just awoken by the time I left. I apologise in advance if they are still in their night time attire." I wondered silently which night time attire he was referring to, and if he even knew that I knew.

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When we got to the manor I was stunned. I honestly just stood there basking in the beauty of the place until Alfred ushered me inside. Even then it took me way to long to get through each room. I saw Dick at the top of a massive stair case, and I knew what was coming.

"Hey Roxie!" He yelled, jumping onto the handrail and skidding down. I noticed he had not shoes on, but black, slightly fluffy socks that meant he could slide down the handrail with ease. Just near the end her jumped off, preformed his signature quadruple flip, and landed a mere foot in front of me. I latched my arms around him, hugging him tightly. He hugged me back, cackling.

"It's not like we didn't see each other last night or anything," he said. I laughed, letting him go.

"Sorry, I'm a bit freaked out at the moment. Some weird guy came up to me in practice, and I swear I know him from somewhere. It's been bugging me that I can't remember where from..."

"Do you know who?"

"Does the name Tony Zucco mean anything to you?"

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**dun dun dun! So yeah. Please review, I love you guys, hope you enjoyed!**


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